Montae Lamar Taylor, interim president of the Virginia NAACP Youth and College Division and a student at Old Dominion University, witnessed the clash between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville on Aug. 12 that outraged people around the nation and the world.

The white nationalists “were marching in military formation and riding around in the backs of pickup trucks with automatic rifles and shotguns, handguns, shields and most had helmets on,” he says, “an indication to me that they were not there for a peaceful protest.”

He was interviewed by reporters from CNN and HBO’s VICE News Tonight about what he saw and felt. The tumultuous, violent event, he says, has sharpened his focus for his work with the nation’s oldest civil rights organization and other groups. NAACP chapters on college campuses represent a powerful intersection between the organization’s rich and effective history and mobilizing young people for the social justice struggle today.

“We get wisdom from those who came before us,” the 21-year-old senior says. “They offer us insight about what worked and did not work for them, helping us figure out how to build upon that.”

Mr. Taylor credits his family with instilling in him a commitment to civil rights and social justice. His grandparents and parents have been involved with the NAACP for decades.

“My grandfather was a very outspoken person and made me the same way,” he says. “He always taught us to stay educated on what is going on around us.”

That, Mr. Taylor says, includes making his voice heard by contacting public officials on issues of importance. He took it to heart when he was an elementary school student. Working on a class assignment, he decided to contact Virginia’s governor at the time, Tim Kaine, and President George W. Bush, inviting both to visit his school.

Neither took him up on the invitation, he says, but he met Mr. Kaine, now a U.S. senator, when Mr. Kaine visited ODU during the 2016 presidential campaign and met with student leaders.

“We talked and he apologized about not being able to visit” Mr. Taylor’s elementary school years ago. During their talk, the subject of Pee Wee Football came up and Mr. Taylor’s playing on a team while in elementary school. “Sen. Kaine said, ‘I got you,’ and the next day, he visited the little league field that I’d talked about in Highland Springs, where I used to play,” Mr. Taylor says. “I think it’s awesome the kids got to see a real person active in our government.” The NAACP’s success in working with public officials and government entities is one of its strongest assets, Mr. Taylor says, noting that it is important for today’s youths to learn and understand that history and the contributions and progress the organization has made.

The energy of today’s college-age social justice warriors is in building momentum to foster change, he says, particularly through partnerships with other organizations.

“It’s going to take more than the NAACP to face the social justice issues of today,” he says. “Activism is about anybody who supports equal rights for everybody. It’s about all of us coming together on one accord, many different organizations coming together and focusing on the work that we have to do.”

Meet this week’s Personality and young social activist, Montae L. Taylor: Volunteer position: Interim president, Virginia NAACP Youth and College Division.

Date and place of birth: June 1 in Richmond.

Current residence: Norfolk.

Family: Mother, Charlette Taylor; father, Kelvin Taylor; and brother, Kelvin Taylor Jr.

Career goal: To become an attorney focused on youth rights.

Ultimate ambition: To open a youth rehabilitation center with an emphasis on education instead of incarceration.

What I did this summer: Helped organize programming for the state NAACP and the ODU organization Brother2Brother.

Classification: Senior at ODU, majoring in sociology and criminology with a concentration in social welfare.

When and how I got involved with NAACP: My family has been involved with the NAACP going back to right after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., decision. They fought for faster than “deliberate speed” integration for schools in New Kent County. My family continues to be involved in the NAACP.

The NAACP is important because: Youths need to know the power of the NAACP because the organization is a demonstration of what can happen when people come together.

What the NAACP means to me: It’s an opportunity for me to carry the torch and continue my family’s legacy, not just with the NAACP, but as a freedom fighter.

Role of NAACP on college campuses: Youth and college chapters are energized, ready to work, willing to get out in the streets when they need to and willing to do the things that need to be done.

Top issues on college campuses: It’s important that we understand what the issues are to educate our peers on them. As college students, we are positioned to gain power once we leave the institutions where we are attending school, and need to use that power to further the cause.

NAACP youths are: Fired up and ready to go.

How many NAACP student members were present in Charlottesville: I’m not sure. When we go into situations like that, we go into it as brothers and sisters who are concerned about one another, representing a unified voice, whether or not you are affiliated with the NAACP.

The reason I decided to go: To allow something like this to happen in my state and not show up wasn’t an option. I wanted to lay eyes on the situation. The press would never see everything that was going on, and you won’t know what’s happening unless you see it for yourself.

How have the events in Charlottesville changed you: In everything we do, we have prepared for incidents like Charlottesville. We have prepared for the worst. It didn’t change me, but when it comes to our rights, and when it comes to safety, I have a heightened focus.

How I start the day: With prayer and then usually call my parents and my day moves on from there.

A perfect day for me is: When I can get plenty of sleep and relax, then hanging out with family and friends.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: To always love people the way I would want them to love me.

My friends describe me as: Funny and dedicated.

A quote that I am inspired by is: “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The top of my “to-do” list is: Graduate college. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to go to college. To be here, I’m already living my dream, and to graduate would just be even better.

Person who influenced me the most: My dad. He has shown me how to be a great man, to always stay humble and to worry about others more than yourself.

Book that influenced me the most: “Makes Me Wanna Holler” by Nathan McCall.

What I’m reading now: “Writing Our Way Out: Memoirs from Jail” by David Coogan.

Next goal: Graduation.